The VLD ventured out from behind the law desk last night and attended the 2014 Marcum Tech Top 40 Awards, which honors tech companies large and small from across the state of Connecticut. Congratulations to Datto Inc. of Norwalk, which took the grand prize as fastest growing company for a second year in a row. Datto posted an astounding 1,000%+ growth rate over the last four years. Datto was well represented by its enthusiastic founder and CEO, Austin McChord.
Prior to the awards, the Connecticut Technology Council shared
the results of its survey of the CEOs of this year's Tech Top
40 companies. While most were optimistic about their prospects in
the coming year, only 16% said they would recommend Connecticut as
a location for other businesses. (Hartford, we have a
problem.) Whether it's the oft-cited criticism that taxes
are a drag on the state's progress (the number one issue that
the Tech Top 40 CEOs said they would raise with the Governor), or
something else, all of us who care about Connecticut and its
entrepreneurial eco-system should be concerned about this
perception.
The VLD managed to steal a few minutes during dinner to talk with
Commissioner Catherine Smith of the Connecticut Department of
Economic and Community Development (DECD), who cheerfully helped
dispel some of the gloom by discussing with us the remarkable
activity of the DECD over the last four years. The number of DECD
grants and direct investments in Connecticut businesses has
increased nearly tenfold over the preceding four-year period, she
said. The VLD has seen the effects of this effort firsthand, as
DECD and Connecticut Innovations increasingly provide crucial
early-stage financing for our startup clients around the state.
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